Cycling collective helps flood victims back on their saddles

CGTN Europe

Torrential floods in the Spanish region of Valencia killed 220 people last November.   Now a local group of volunteers called the Soterranya Collective is trying to make their neighborhood better through projects that help those at risk of social and economic exclusion.  CGTN’s Ken Browne has more.  Read more: https://tinyurl.com/43bm7up7   #cycle #valencia

Transcript

00:00Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay.

00:03The streets of Valencia.

00:07Climate emergency ground zero in November last year,

00:11the city was devastated by flooding that claimed over 200 lives.

00:19Now it's trying to get its economy rolling again and piscis peratotes,

00:23or bicycles for all volunteers, are in the workshop on Saturday morning to meet demand.

00:29Known locally as La Dana, the flooding destroyed some 120,000 cars

00:34and paralysed public transport, making bikes the best way to get around many parts of Valencia.

00:41Even now, months later, the organisation Bicycles for Everyone has a waiting list of 600 people.

00:51The project is part of the Soterraña Collective,

00:54a non-profit NGO that helps local people who need it most.

01:01This is a social project that is pro-recycling and anti-waste.

01:05We have found and fixed 1,277 bikes.

01:09Most of them have been discarded.

01:11For us, the bicycle is a tool of change, a way to make things better.

01:16What we want is for people to get on their bikes and stop using private cars.

01:20Saturday morning is delivery time.

01:23For people like El Mehdi Hamani, it's a lifeline.

01:27I'm happy. They brought me a bicycle, and now I can get to work.

01:31For others, like 66-year-old Jose Jimenez, who lost his house and two cars,

01:36the trauma of the floods is still raw.

01:44It was such a horrific experience, just awful.

01:46I hope no one else ever has to go through it.

01:49It's a disaster, a disaster.

01:51At least now I have a bike and the means of transport.

01:54So today is a better day. Today, I'm happy.

02:04On the streets, the quiet power of community causes positive change.

02:10Ordinary people doing extraordinary things, like the Soterraña Collective.

02:15Ken Brown, CGTN, Valencia.

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